Cap feeder



A. I. RISSER Sept. 9, 1930.

CAP FEEDER Filed April 10,1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 7724 'aif I 57 272114 155567 A. I. RISSER CAP FEEDER Sept. 9, 1930.

Filed April 10, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 2706722 2%&&/ I Fzbaer 6 Sept. 9, 1930.

A. l. RISSER CAP FEEDER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Apx -il 10, 1929 A. I. RISSER Sept. 9, 1930.

CAP FEEDER Filed April 10, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 A. I. RISSER Sept. 9, 1930.

CAP FEEDER Filed April 10, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 (fizzy 7Z4 @"Z/ZM} Z. 7%Sser if v i Patented Septa, 1930 UNITED STATES A ENT OFFlCE' anrnuar. or cnrcnoo, rumors, 'assrcnon To us. nor'rmns 1140mm! comm, or cmcneo, rumors, a coaroan'rron or rumors GAP FEEDER Application fled April m, m. Serial Io. $54,014.

This invention relates to improvements in bottle capping machines, and more particularly to improvements in means for feeding the caps into a predetermined position, such as'in cooperative relation with the bottles, or i the capping mechanism of the machine.

In m invention, I provide means by which flat cy drical caps can be :fed, although other lands of caps can be handled as well. Flat screw caps, which are of thin, soft material, have been quite difiicult to feed mechanically and place accurately in thechuck or carrying means for obvious reasons, and heretofore such caps have usually been placed on the bottles manually. I also provide .means for contr'ollin the feeding of the caps directly by the bott es, so that a cap is not placed in position unless there is a bottle in the machine to receive the cap. I also provide a feeder and mechanism which can be readily adjusted for different sizes of caps and bottles. Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent in the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a bottle capping machine showing an illustrative embodiment of my machine, with parts broken away and parts shown in section. The details and op- ;o eration of the capping machine itself are more fully described and claimed inmy companion application for bottle capping machines.

' Fig. 2 is a plan view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of 1.

:5 Fig.3 is a section substantially on the line 33ofFig.2. V

Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of the feeding mechanism, taken substantially on the line 4-4'of Fig. a) Fig. 5 is, a front elevation of the parts shown in 4.

Fig.6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is an elevation lookin from the right side of 4, and shows the chuck C 46 in an initial positional relation. with the bot. tlecapB. M Fig. 8 isasecti on at88ofFi .5. t Fig. 9 is an elevation of the le side of the feeder, taken on the line 9+9 of Fig. 5. Id The bottle capping machine comprises a thereof. T

' conveyor table, and the spaced between the posts ed on and connecting the posts, are triangular and 42 below" short conveyor table 10 and a turret table 12 positioned behind the middle portion of said table. The conveyor tablelO is supported by pairs of legs 13, 14 and 15, and has a bottle conve or belt 16 running across the top h s belt 16 travels over the pulley 17, rotatably mounted in brackets 18 secured to the legs 13 at the left end of the conveyor table; and travels over the driving pulley 19 at the right end of the table. The driving pulley 19 is keyed on 'a shaft 20, journaled in the bearings 21, secured tothe legs 15; andthe shaft 20 is connected to the clutch shaft 22 by the chain belt 23.

The clutch shaft 22 is rotatably mounted in a frame plate 24, mounted on the front legs 13 and 14, and has, rotatably mounted thereon, a gear wheel 25 which is connected for rotation to the shaft by the clutch member 26, spllned on the shaft 22, which is operated by the clutch lever 27. Mounted on the rear,

upwardly extending leg 13, is a motor 28 i which is connected to the pulle shaft 29, journaled in the plate 24, by the It 30, and a chan eable speedconnection from the shaft 29 to t e gear 25 is made through the compound gear train 31, mounted on the plate 24.-

The bottles D are carried across the conveyor table from the left to. the right, and are diverted near the middle onto the turret table 12 by the curved end 32 of the guide rail 33, which is secured to the ,table 10 at the front edge of the conveyor belt 16. A guide rail 34 is .provided'at the side of the belt opposite to the rail 33, and a corresponding pair of rails 35 and 36 on either side of the belt at the right end of the conveyor table, all of the reds being, of course, mounted on the table. The inner end 37 of the rail 35 is also curved over the belt to guide the bottles back onto the belt as the bottles are returned from the turret table.

The turret table 12 is rotatablyvmounted in the turret frame, which.comprises the posts 38 and 39, adjacentthe rear side of the 38 and 39. Mount-.

frame members 41, at the top, the level of the conveyor belt. The shaft 43,

post 4O,*rearwardly of the turret table 12, is rotatably mounted in the center hub 44, of the lower frame mem- 7 her 42, which hub also supports the turret table; and the upper end ofthe turret shaft 43 telescopes into the cam drum support shaft 45.1 which is slidably mounted in the upper frame member 41 and is supported by the shaft 43. Keyed to the shaft 43 and supported by the collar 45, fixed on the shaft 43,

1s "a spindle carrying head 46 in which are mounted the spindle shafts 47, at regular intervals and equally spaced from the center of the head.

Near the middle, the spindle shafts 47 are provided with a fixed collar 48, and to the upper ends of the shafts are splined pinions 49, held between the bearingportions 50 and 51 formed in the head 46 and all of the pinions mesh with the center gear 52, which is held stationary on the shaft 45.1, while the head 46 rotated, thus revolving the spindle shafts as they are carried around on the head. The turret shaft 43, at its lower end, is proturret table 12 by a spring pressed lever 58,

which is hinged to theinner end of the rail 54. The arrangement of the pockets 56 conforms to the arrangement of the spindles so that each bottle on the turret table is in vertical ali ent with one of the spindles.- For preventing the bottles from rotating at the rear of the turret to screw on the caps, ll provide a belt 59. This belt 59 runs over the pulleg'e 60, rotatably mounted in the frame mem r 61, which is fixedly supported on the rear post 40, the tightener pulley 62 adjustably and resiliently supported on said frame member, and the driving pulley 63. The driving pulley is keyed on a shaft 64, which is suitably connected for driving'to the shaft 22, as shown in my companion application referred'to above. At the right side of the turret, the bottles are deflectedout of the pockets by the finger 65, secured to the rail portions 32 and 37, and the bottles then are guided-back onto the conveyor belt in contact with'the rail ortion 37. 3

Threaded into t e upper end of the shaft 45.1, is an adjusting screw 66 having a handwheel 67 secured to its upperend. On the stem '68 of the screw 66, is su ported a oke 69,,in which the screw turns reely; an depending from the oke, are the cam drum hanger rods 70. o the lower ends of the rods 70, is attached a spider 70.1, splined on the shaft 45.1, from which the cam drum 71 is supported by the bars 72. The cam drum 'the spindle controlling slide'rollers surroundsthe spindle head. 46 and has an I groove 73, in which 74 travel as the head 46 is rotated. The rollers 74 are attached to bars 75, which are slidably mounted in the head 46, andthe lower ends of the irregularly shaped cam bars are fastened to collars 76, which are slidably and rotatably mounted on the spindles 47. Suitable thrust bearings 77 and 78 are rovided above and below the collars 76, and when the rollers are in the higher portions of the cam groove, the spindles are positively liftedwith the bearing 77 in contact with the under side of the spindle collars 48. At the lower ends, the spindles are provided with flanges 79, fixed on the spindles; and coil springs 80 are interposed between the thrust bearings 78 and the flanges 79, so thatthe spindles may be resiliently depressed.

. Rotatably secured to the lower end of each spindle and in frictional driving engagement with the lower face of the flange 7 9, is a capping head 81 in which is fixedly mounted the chuck ring 82. tapered bore, which may have serrated walls, in wlliich the bottle caps can be tightly engage e In the operation of the machine, the chucks are'carried in an elevated position around the frontiof the-turret where the bottles are being placed on and dischargetbfrom the turrettable. As a bottle moves onto the turret table, a cap is inserted in the ehuck, as will be described hereinafter. The 'lchuck is lowered to place the cap on the bottle and screw it down. This latter part of the operation is accomplished while the bottle is held from turning by the belt 59, and next the chuck is withdrawn from the cap and raised to the startin height.

At t e left side of the turret, vertically spaced plates 86 and 87 are secured to the bars 72, and in the plates are mounted two depending bars 88 and 89, on the lower ends of which is mounted the cap feed shelf 90.

The shelf projects over the path of the bot- The ring 82 has a slightlychuck is lowered over a cap placed'on the shelf, as shown in Fig. 7', then lowered gradually to accurately position andpress the cap chuck is moving over the shelf and the extenup into the bore of the chuck ring, as the sion plate 91, secured to the shelf, so that the 1 ca is retained and picked up as the chuck is raised in leaving the shelf. f From the above, it will'be perceived that it is necessary to position the cap on the'table in close alignment with the chuck, and also that it is not desirable to have a cap inserted in the chuck unless there vis a bottle .in position to receive the cap from the chuck, because there is no other available means than the ,4

bottle provided for removing the cap from the chuck. It will also now be u 1i lerstood for different heights of bottles merely by turning the screw 66, since the cam 46, whic controls the heights of the'chucks, and the shelf, fixed in cooperative relation with the chucks, are both supported by the adjusting screw 66.

The method and means ofmy invention for supplying and positioning the caps on the shelf will now be described.

On the left end of the shelf 90, just inside.

of the post 89, is secured a block 92, and

opposite the block is a guide rail 93 adjusta ly secured to the shelf y means of the bolts 94, which are inserted through holes in the shelf and through slots 95 in the base portions 96' of the rail 93.

The caps are supplied to the channel C, formed between the members 92 and 93, from the magazine 96 which is mounted on the post 97 located at the left of the turret. To the lower end of .the magazine 96, and forming a flexible continuation thereof, is a chute 98 consisting of the opposite arcuate side-walls 99 and 100, to which are secured the bottom plate 101 and the top spaced plates 102. At

the lower end of the chute, the lower edges of the side members 99 and 100, and the sides of the bottom plate 101, are cut away so that the sides rest on the top edges of the bar 92 and the guide 93, while the central lower end portion 103 of the plate 101 remains in close relation with the surface of the shelf 90.

For preventing the caps from jumping out of'the channel C, andfor providing ready accessto the end cap at B the lever 104 is hinged at one end to the bridge frame 105, which is secured to the shelf and spans the end of the channel C. The left or'opposite end of the lever has a cross-pin 106 which engages the surfaces of the plate 102, so that the bar is slidably supported by the plates. It can now beseen that the shelf can be raised or lowered to different heights, together with the rest of the capping mechanism, without interfering with its relation to the magazine chute.

The movementof the caps from the magazine chute is controlled by the trigger plate 107, which is pivotally mounted on the stud 108', which is secured to the shelf 90. The

inner end of the trig er is convex with a detent point 108 at the r1 ht side, which engages the cap at B and ho ds it-back in cooperation with the opposing rail 93, when the trigger is in normal position, as shown. When the trigger is moved clockwise, the cap at B is released and the point 109, formed on the left side of the inner end of the' trigger, swin in to intercept the succeeding cap and hold 1t until the trigger is restored to normal position, at which time the J succeeding cap will be moved by gravity into the position B The trigger is stop (1 in counter-clockwise rotation by the pm 110, against which the shoulder 111, .formed on the trigger strikes. The forwardly projecting end 0 the trigger has a slot 112 see Fig. 2) in which t e vertical rod 113 is shdably en aged. The rod 113 is carried by the. spaced evers 114 which are secured on the shaft 115, and the shaft 115 is rotatably mounted 'in the bracket 116, whichis mounted on the post 38. To the lower end of the rod. 115, is secured a finger 117, which projects into the path of the bottles comin into position in the pockets on the turret ta 1c.

The shaft 115 is urged in clockwise rotation. to hold the trigger in normal position with the shoulder 111 againstthe stop pin 110, by a coiled spring 118, which is extended between a pin 119, fixed in the shaft 115, and a pin 119', fixed in the bracket 116. Thus, it will be seen that as a bottle moves on the turret table towards the shelf 90, a ca will be released from the channel C by the ottle striking against the finger 117, and as the bottle passes out of engagement with the finger, the trigger will be returned to normal position by the spring 118 to hold the succeeding cap in the channel.

From the channel C, the released cap is carried out to the inner end of the shelf and positioned against the stop plate 120 by the constantly runnin carrier belt 121. The upper reach of the elt 121 slides on the surface of the shelf 90, and the belt is supported on pulleys 122 and 123, which are fixed on shafts- 124 and 125, which are 'journaled in bearings 126 and 127 respectively, the bearirligisfbeing mounted on the under side of the s e The shaft 124 is extended toward the front of the machine and has a pulley 128 which is driven from the shaft 22 through a belt connection 129 to a shaft 130 journaled in the conveyor table frame and connected to the shaft 22 by the'chain belt 131, as shown in Fig. 1. The belt 121 is tensioned by the pulley 132, which is mounted on the lever 133 and pivoted to the shelf, the pulley being pressed against the belt by means of the coiled sprmg 134.

The stop plate 120 is pivoted to the under side of the shelf 90 on a stud 135, fixed to the shelf, and the plate is urged in counter-clockwise rotationby the spring 136, which is coiled around the stud 135 and anchored thereto. The free end portion of the plate 120 is offset from the pivot and projects over the surface of the shelf, Where it is provided with a notch 137 for locating the cap in alignment with the engaging chuck; and the plate is adjusta'bly positioned by means of the lever 138. The lever 138 is pivoted to 7.1-;-

the upper surface of the shelf and has stepped notches 139 in WhlCh the pin 140, fixed to the plate 120, engages. The notches are so related to the pm 140 and the inner surface of the lever l3 8,that said surface cogperates with the notch 137 in the stop plate 120 to .form a pocket for the cap, and different sizes of pockets for different sizes of caps, but all in concentric relation, won the same center. By this means, an instant adjustment can be made for larger or smaller sizes of caps without changing the positional relation of the cap to the axis of the chuck The shelf plate 91 is positioned at the rear side of the belt 121, and a second shelf plate 141 is fixed to the shelf along the front edge of the belt. These shelfplates 91 and 141 are thinner than the belt, as shown in Fig. 8, to insure engagement of the belt with the cap for moving the cap along into position against the stop plate.

To review the cap feeding operation, the magazine is filled with a row of caps which move'down by gravity as the caps are re- 'leased from the channel 0, and assume the ready position 13,. As a bottle is pocketed on the turret table, it strikes the finger 1.17 and a cap for'the bottle is released by the resultant movement of the trigger. This cap is positioned on the shelf as the bottle is moving under the shelf, during which movement the chuck is brought down and loosely engages I the cap, as shown in Fig. 7. Then, as the chuck moves along over the surface of the shelf plate 91, the chuck is lowered,'through the travel of the corresponding roller 74 in the cam -groove73, and pressed down onto the cap, t rough the action of the spring 80,

nism, a separately mounted magazine, and a flexible connection from the magazine to the shelf. y

3. In a bottle capping machine, a cap feed shelf, an adjustable stop plate mounted on the shelf and having a notch for regulating the position of a cap, means for moving a cap into relation with the plate, and a member in cooperative relation with the stop late in the different adjusted positionsfor orming pockets for the cap with the'same central position. 1 4C. In a bottle capping machine, a shelf, a stop plate hinged to the shelf, and a lever hinged to the shelf and engaged with the plate for forming a pocket for the cap.

5. In a bottle capping machine, a shelf, a stop plate hinged to the shelf, and a lever hinged to the shelf in angular relation to the plate and in adjustable cooperative rela-- tion therewith to form pockets for the caps.

6. In a bottle capping machine, a shelf, a stop plate hinged to the shelf, a lever hinged to the shelf and having a series of notches for engaging with the plate to'form pockets for the caps, and means for retaining the plate and lever in engagement.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 8th day of April, 1929.

ARTHUR I. RISSER,

which is interposed between the spindle shaft flange 79 and the collar 76, which is positivel connected to the roller 7 4. The spindle sha is being rotated constantly and it can be per-,

ceived the cap is accurately aligned in the chuck as it rests on the table, which is, of course, at right angles or normal to the axis. =of the chuck.

-When the ca chuck, thechuck off from the table.

is raised and li s the cap As the chuck and bottle move away from the shelf, the chuck is lowered to thread the cap onto the bottle, and

-then frictionally rotated by' the pressure heport, a separately mounted cap magazine, and

a chute hinged to the magazine and support ed on the capping mechanism support.

2. In a bottle capping machine, a bottlesupport, a support for the ca ping mechanism for screwing a-cap on the bottle adjustis tightly engaged in the ably movable with respect tothe bottle sup- 4 

